ARTICLE - CHOLERA HOSPITAL

HAITIAN CHOLERA HOSPITAL COUNTS ITS DEAD ON THE LAWN
(Montreal Gazette - AFP) - By Stephanie Jourdain

HINCHE- The woman stricken by cholera lay in bed in a hospital tent. Fluids were delivered to her body through an IV drip while nurses made sure she drank water all the time.

But all the efforts to save her life proved to be in vain. She passed out, and feverish attempts by a hospital crew to jump-start her failing heart came to naught.

After about 20 minutes of fruitless efforts to revive the patient, the doctors gave up, and another dead body was taken to a lawn that serves as a hospital morgue.

"It’s the fourth death today," sighed an American doctor who took care of the patient. "She was young, 30 years. There’s something wrong with this emergency service. We have to do something."

Theresa Hospital is located in the town of Hinche in central Haiti. Here, on the banks of the Artibonite River, the first cases of what would become a massive cholera epidemic were discovered a month ago.

To accommodate all the patients, large khaki tents have been pitched in front of the hospital.

The chaotic surroundings include two men carrying a coffin, chickens dashing in and out of hospital tents and nurses in blue uniforms trying to make their way between parked cars and beds.

The dead bodies were placed on a lawn, a few meters (yards) away from the tents.

The hospital’s death toll from the cholera epidemic now stands at 22.

"It is not going well," said hospital director Doctor Prince-Pierre Soncon.

"When the epidemic was just beginning, we reported only three new cases every day. Then their number jumped to 15 and then to 35. This morning we have already had 60."

Because the hospital has no access to the Internet, it has trouble reporting data to Port-au-Prince, the capital. However, it was visited Saturday by a group of French and Haitians doctors and epidemiologists, who were able to collect some information.

"We need chlorine, hydrating liquids, IV drips, antibiotics," added Soncon.

"We have some reserves, but the demand is so great that they will not last long."

New patients arrive one after another.

A couple brings a small boy who is visibly exhausted. A young mad clad in jeans and a polo shirt stumbles in by himself. But he is obviously in pain and vomits on the bench where he sits even before nurses can attend him.

"It’s difficult. People come here very sick," explained Atalante Saint-Preux, a young Haitian nurse.

"They are our friends, brothers and sisters, and we need to help them."

Marie-Lourde Denise, 37, has been hospitalized since Wednesday. She has been suffering from dizziness and stomach pains since she went to wash clothes in the Guayamouco River.

"I think when I was washing the clothes, I also washed my face with the river water," she explained.

"I think that was the cause. Three days later, I was hit by diarrhea, nausea and stomach pains. I immediately went to the hospital because I thought it was cholera."

Denise has won her battle with the disease and was scheduled to leave the hospital soon.

Hinche is patrolled by UN troops from Nepal, but some local residents have accused the UN soldiers of spreading the disease. As a result, six peacekeepers were injured last Monday when about 400 angry demonstrators pelted them with rocks.

Since that incident, the situation has calmed down, but foreigners are still worried for their safety.

"I try to limit by trips," said Antonin Danalet, a young mathematics professor from Switzerland, who works at a local university.

"Since Monday, I have been insulted twice in the streets," he added. "People treat me as a stranger, as someone who could bring them cholera."